For the fourth year in a row, the University of Virginia is the number one producer of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized universities, according to a Peace Corps press release, that came out yesterday.
Eighty alumni currently serve as volunteers and 838 University alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers since the institution's inception.
University spokesperson Carol Wood attributes the high number of students involved in Peace Corps to University students' dedication to volunteerism.
"I think the University attracts students who are committed to public service," she said, citing student involvement in volunteer organizations such as Madison House.
The interest in Peace Corps at the University is so strong that University Career Services has established a Peace Corps representative University graduate student Matt Hural.
Ladd Flock, director of Career Services for the College, said both the University and the surrounding Charlottesville community tend to attract Peace Corps volunteers. However, Flock said, University Career Services does not attempt to influence students' decision to join Peace Corps.
"We don't encourage people to do anything," he said.
Fourth-year student Christy Gillmore said she recently submitted her application to join the Peace Corps. She says she hopes to go to Africa, but "will have to think about it" before making a final decision.
"The worldwide poverty is just so ridiculous, and I just want to be part of the process of helping to end poverty and raising awareness," Gillmore said.
Gillmore attributes her interest in the Peace Corps in part to her University education, where she said that her decision to major in anthropology has broadened her world view. Although she said her parents are wary of her intention to move to Africa, they support her plan to join the Peace Corps.
"They would rather have me out doing something than just staying at home," Gillmore said.
William Speidel, former director of Peace Corps in China, commented on the history of the organization and its volunteers.
"Peace Corps volunteers exhibit a pragmatic idealism," Speidel said. "They're trying to be of service but, at the same time, help themselves."
Still, Speidel said that there are faults in the organization, many of which he attributes to bureaucratic slowdowns and language barriers.
"I wish there was a much stronger requirement to speak the language of the country to which you are being assigned," Speidel said. "But it's a reality that we Americans don't do very well with languages. We don't see the importance of really bearing down with a language; too many people in the world speak English."
While many people think their Peace Corps contribution ends when they return to the U.S., Speidel said he views the experience as providing continued benefits.
"A major result is how much the volunteer brings back with himself or herself to our country," Speidel said. "They understand that we don't have all the answers, that our political system may not be the best for everyone."
Speidel is currently teaching a course on the role of Peace Corps in China at the Jefferson Institute of Lifelong Learning at the University of Virginia.
Speidel could not give an explanation for the University's high rate of Peace Corps enrollment.
"I don't know how you can explain that certain campuses consistently send more than average [to the Corps]."
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